What's on Tap for Malls in 2022?
It's easy to blame the demise of malls on the pandemic. Last year, we saw a record number of retail bankruptcies, with numerous store closures to follow. And that's been very bad news for malls, given their reliance on those tenants.
But the reality is that malls were in trouble before the pandemic began. Online shopping and big-box stores have been putting the pressure on for years, driving customers away from malls and robbing them of the revenue they need to stay afloat. And while foot traffic at malls has been better in 2021 than it was in 2020, the outlook for malls is still iffy.
Last summer, Coresight Research estimated that 25% of U.S. malls would wind up closing within the following three to five years. All told, that's a whopping 250 malls closures. And while some mall operators -- notably, giants like Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) -- are well-poised to stay the course, smaller operators could end up in a very different boat next.
Source Fool.com
